Page 37 (1/2)

Prologue

A wise man once said, “A human mind is the place where emotion and reason are locked in perpetual combat Sadly for our species, emotion alins” I really liked that quote It explained why, even though I was reasonably intelligent, I kept findingreally stupid And it sounded much better than “Nevada Baylor, Total Idiot”

“Don’t do this,” Augustine said behind me

I looked at theJeff Caldwell He sat shackled to a chair that was bolted to the floor He wore prison orange He didn’t see, average height, average build, average face I read a news article about hi He had a job with the city; a wife, as a schoolteacher; and two children, both in college He had no ic and wasn’t affiliated with any of the Houses, powerful ic families that ran Houston His friends described him as a kind, considerate man

In his spare tiirls He kept theled them to death and left their remains in parks surrounded by flowers His victies of five and seven, and the stories their bodies told made you wish that hell existed just so Jeff Caldwell could be sent there after he died The night before last he had been caught in the act of depositing the tiny corpse of his latest victin of terror that had gripped Houston for the past year was finally over

There was just one proble She had been kidnapped two days ago from her school bus stop, less than twenty-five yards from her house The MO was too similar to Jeff Caldwell’s previous abductions to be a coincidence He had to have taken her and, if so, it meant she was still alive somewhere I had followed the story for the past two days waiting for the announcement that Amy was found The announcement never came

Houston PD had had Jeff Caldwell for thirty-six hours By now the cops had scoured his house, questioned his family, his friends, and his coworkers, and pored over his cell phone records They interrogated him for hours Caldwell refused to talk

He would talk today

“If you do this once, people will expect you to do it again,” Augustine said “And when you won’t, they’ll be unhappy This is why Prie We’re only people We can’t be everywhere at once If an aquakinetic puts out one fire, the next tioes ablaze and he fails to be there, the public will turn on him”

“I understand,” I said

“I don’t think you do You’re hiding your talent precisely to avoid this kind of scrutiny”

I hid my talent because truthseekers like me were extremely rare If I walked into the police station and wrenched the truth froet visitors from the military, Homeland Security, FBI, CIA, private Houses, and anyone else who had the need of a one hundred percent accurate interrogator They would destroy ency, a small, family-owned firm; I took care of e any of it What I did wasn’t admissible in court If I took any of those people up on their offer, I wouldn’t be in the courtroo a guy tied to a chair and beaten to within an inch of his life, with a bag over his head People would live or die on my word It would be dark and dirty, and I would do al to avoid that Almost

“I’ve taken every precaution,” Augustine said, “but despite my best efforts and youroutfit, the chance you will be discovered exists”

I could see reen hooded cape that hid loves, and a ski loves caed to Lady in Green, Scottish Highoustine, the outfit was so unusual that people would concentrate on it and nobody would reht, or any other details

“I knoe’ve had our differences,” Augustine started “But I wouldn’t advise you to act against your self-interest”

I waited for the fa ustine was doing his best to talk ement that directly benefited him, and he was sincere about it

“Augustine, if one of et her back Right now a little girl is dying of hunger and thirst somewhere I can’t stand by and let it happen I just can’t We have a deal”

Augustine Montgooe on our family business He couldn’t force me to take clients, but he’d calledto the police station, about to destroy my life He had a client who’d specifically requested ed for me to have an anony second thoughts

I turned and looked at Augustine An illusion Priht Today his face wasn’t just handsoreatest works of Renaissance art were perfect His skin was flawless, his pale blond hair brushed with surgical precision, and his features had the kind of regal elegance and a cold air of detached to be immortalized on canvas or, better yet, in marble

“We have a deal,” I repeated

Augustine sighed “Very well Come with me”